Ruby Regret
by katie-viola-w
Summary: Nellie knew Sweeney Todd was dangerous but she swore the only torment he could cause her would be emotional. When one day Sweeney causes physical harm to Nellie, she realizes just how terrifying Sweeney Todd can be. Unknowing to her however, Sweeney is also coming to some realizations when for the first time he actually begins to feel guilt for hurting someone.
1. Chapter 1

Splat...Splat...Splat.

Mrs. Lovett stared out her pie shop window as the rain dropped down from the window sill. It was a dreary day on Fleet Street and she hadn't seen a single customer. Her mind shifted to the barber who lived above her. He was her reason and her life. She loved him with all her heart even though he barely even acknowledged her presence. He was so caught up in his precious revenge that he never even noticed how she lit up everytime she saw him. He had terrible anger issues too. One little thing could set him off and he'd have her up against the wall with a razor to her neck. She was scared of him. She knew he could easily kill her if he wanted to but she loved him more.

Chime! It was six o'clock. She made Sweeney's dinner at six everyday. She took one last look into the rain and got up. Mrs. Lovett grabbed a plate, a cup, and a tray. She filled the plate with a meat pie (real meat) and filled the cup with gin, then she picked up the tray and headed out into the rain.

She hoisted herself carefully up the slippery steps. She knocked on Sweeney's door and he gave a grunt okaying her to come in.

"Good evenin' love" Mrs. Lovett chimed, happy to see Sweeney looking directly at her.

"It's absolutely miserable outside, Mrs. Lovett. That's not exactly what I would call a good evening." Sweeney murmured to her.

"Well I was just trying to be in a good mood, dear." Mrs. Lovett said back in a dull tone. Although she was always happy to see him, he did crush her happiness quite a bit.

"Get Out." Sweeney said in a monotone voice.

Mrs. Lovett went back out into the rain. He hadn't been particularly cruel to her though he hadn't confessed his undying love for her either so she wasn't exactly happy. She sauntered back into her parlor where she flopped onto a chair and grabbed one of the various romance novels off the shelf next to her chair. She flipped it open and began to read. She dreamed a love like the ones in the books would come to her. She knew it was foolish but it couldn't hurt if no one but her knew. Her fantasys were her only way of keeping herself sane while being madly in love with someone who didn't even know she existed.


	2. Chapter 2

The light filtered in through the dingy curtains in Mrs. Lovett's bedroom. She lifted herself out of bed and looked into her mirror.

_My god I look a wreck._She thought.

She grabbed an old hairbrush from her small nightstand and began to pull it through her auburn curls, then she pilled them on top of her head as she usually did. Nellie took another look and went to her wardrobe. She pulled out a simple black dress with a little dark burgandy on the corset.

Knock. Knock

"Mum." Toby's voice came through the closed door. Mrs. Lovett quickly finnished dressing and went to the door.

"Good Mornin' dear." She said cheerily. She went through the door and out into the shop to begin making breakfast for Toby and Sweeney. Mrs. Lovett made fluffy golden pancakes and put them on plates. She handed one plate to Toby. He sat down at the table and began shoveling them in. The other plate she put on a tray and went out the door to take it to the man she loved. She walked up the stairs and knocked.

"Come in" Sweeney said. Mrs. Lovett opened the door and saw Sweeney standing behind his chair looking at her.

" 'Ello love." Mrs. Lovett chimed and smiled warmly at him while setting the tray on the table.

"Morning, Mrs. Lovett." Sweeney said.

" Ya seem ta be in a betta mood this mornin' dear." Mrs. Lovett commented brightly.

" The judge will come today." Sweeney said with a odd smile.

" Well ain't that jus wonderful dear, ya finally be gettin' what ya been after all this time." Mrs. Lovett said. Hope was rising in her. She prayed that once his dredfull revenge was completely he would see how much she loved him and they could go to the sea together like she'd always imagined.

" Yes. You'd better be getting back to your shop, Mrs. Lovett." Sweeney said, motioning downstairs.

"Yes. yes o' course. See ya later then." Mrs. Lovett said and left him. She was brimming with happiness. That was the nicest conersation they'd had in a long time. She sauntered down the stairs and into her shop. She flipped the closed sign to open and was happy to serve her first customers. It seemed like today was going to be a wonderful day.


	3. Chapter 3

The lunch rush had just ended and Mrs. Lovett had slid down into the bench behind the table to let her bones rest. It had been quite a pleasant day so far. Her interaction with the man she desperately loved had kept her in a giddy mood since then. She had relived the conversation in her head a thousand times during the morning. She smiled and lifted herself out of the bench. She walked to the sink and began to clean the many dirtied dishes.

"Mum, I was wonderin' if I might 'ave some money ta go down ta the market." Toby asked her.

"O'course darlin'. Here ya are." She replied sweetly, handed him some money, and patted him on the head. Toby left the shop quickly. Mrs. Lovett smiled. She had always wanted a child and Toby was the closest thing she'd ever had.

Shortly after Toby left, Mrs. Lovett was sitting in the bench again. This time, she was reading. She looked up when she heard a carriage pull up in front of the shop. The carriage pulled to a stop and the driver got off and opened the door. Judge Turpin stepped out of the carriage.

Mrs. Lovett nearly squealed in delight. Finally, Sweeney's revenge would be complete and he would belong to her.

Judge Turpin went up the stairs to Sweeney's Shop.

~In Sweeney's Shop~

Sweeney saw Judge Turpin coming up the stairs. His face turned up into a eerie smile. The doorknob turned and Judge Turpin entered.

"Good Afternoon, Sir. May I interest you in a shave?" Sweeney said smoothly.

"Yes. I've heard of your excellence, Mr. Todd." The Judge said as they shook hands.

"Thank you, sir. The great Judge Turpin is too kind." Sweeney answered. The judge sat down in Sweeney's chair. Sweeney put a cape over him and rubbed his whiskery chin with shaving cream. He began to sharpen his razor.

"How do you know me?" The judge inquired. Sweeney dragged the razor up the man's chin for the first time.

"I,too, have heard of your excellence." Sweeney said almost grimacing as he said it.

"Thank you, Mr. Todd." Judge Turpin replied. Sweeney drags the razor again.

"I have also heard that you will be offering your hand in marriage." Sweeney said. Sweeney continued to shave the judge's throat. He could feel the blood pulsing through his veins. He'd been waiting too long for this moment.

" Yes, to my ward. Pretty young thing. I can't wait to have her." The judge said with a disgustingly perverted tone. Sweeney got so angry. He gripped the razor tight and his hand began to tremble.

"That's a disgusting tone to use when speaking of a child." Sweeney snapped. Judge Turpin leaped up from the chair, rage was on his face.

"How dare you try to tell me how to speak of my future wife! Your opinions should be kept silent, Mr. Todd! You'll have no more of my business!" The judge yelled and stormed out the door. Sweeney yelled out. He'd lost it. His only chance for his revenge was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Mrs. Lovett heard a commotion and saw Judge Turpin run down the stairs. He looked furious. She knew something had gone wrong.

_Oh god, Sweeney._She thought. She knew Sweeney must be terribly upset.

She ran out the door but crept quietly up the stairs. She didn't want to barge in on him knowing that he would be upset. Nellie reached the top of the stairs and looked into the shop window.

Sweeney was just standing there with his back to the window. Mrs. Lovett opened the door silently and walked into the shop. He didn't turn around. Sweeney was so lost in thought he didn't even hear the woman enter the shop. He was filled with so much rage. His hand gripped his razor tighter than ever and blood pulsed through his veins. His heart thundered. He wanted to rip someone's head off.

Mrs. Lovett walked closer to Sweeney. She was almost touching his back when she stopped.

"Love." She let out a scared whisper. Sweeney was jerked out of his thoughts.

"GET OUT!" He screamed. He had no idea how close Mrs. Lovett actually was to him. Sweeney whipped around with his razor in his hand. The razor came across Mrs. Lovett's tiny waist.

She screamed in pain and fell to the floor, clutching her waist. Her dress was torn and blood was beginning to seep from the deep gash on her pale skin. Mrs. Lovett looked terrified. Her eyes were wide and frantic. Sweeney stopped. He stared at her. He hadn't meant to hurt her. The look on her face hardened him.

"Mrs. Lovett...I..."Sweeney stuttered and tried to help her up.

"Stop!" "Please, don't kill me" She back away as quickly as she could and got up, still holding her waist. She tried her best to run from the shop but her wound prevented her from moving too fast and the blood was dripping from her.

Guilt instantly torn through Sweeney. He really hadn't meant to her hurt, just scare her a little.

_ What if she's seriously hurt? What have I done?._Sweeney thought. The frantic look on Mrs. Lovett's face was permanently etched in his brain. He couldn't forget the wide eyed terror he'd seen in her eyes. He'd seen terror like this before but never from her. She was never afraid to look at him even in his most monstrous hour and now she was like the rest of them. Terrified by him.

Sweeney didn't understand why he felt so bad. He should be able to her hurt her and not care. He hurt her everyday when he ignored her and yelled at her. He realized, however, that he'd never actually physically hurt her. He'd threatened to but doing it was something different. He kept picturing the look on her face.

_"I'm a monster. "_Sweeney cursed to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Mrs. Lovett reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly pushed open the door to her shop. Toby, who had been sitting at the table, jumped up in shock when he saw her.

"Oh God mum! Did he do this to you! I'll kill him! I swear it, I'll kill him!" Toby shouted.

"No, Toby please. I need you to get me a doctor." Mrs. Lovett said hoarsely as she slid into the bench. Excruciating pain was shooting through her.

"O...of course mum. I...I'm sorry" Toby stuttered as he ran from the shop. Mrs. Lovett sat in the bench. Her hands were covered in blood. She was beginning to feel light headed. Time seemed to just stop and fade into the pain. All she could think about was pain.

Suddenly, the shop door flew open and Toby ran back in. He was followed by a older man.

"I'm Doctor Johnson." He said as he began to examine Mrs. Lovett's wound.

"She needs stitches badly. Let's get her to the bedroom and lay her down." The doctor told Toby. They helped her out of the bench. Mrs. Lovett could hardly stand on her own. They had to support her.

They reached the bedroom and assisted Mrs. Lovett on to her bed. The doctor tore what was left of her dress away from the wound and got out his tools. First, he began to clean the wound. As soon as the alcohol touched the wound, Mrs. Lovett screamed. The doctor and Toby held her down. He began to put in the first stitch. Mrs. Lovett screamed again, then she fainted from pain.

Doctor Johnson finished the stitches and looked sternly at young Toby.

"Your mum needs rest. She has lost allot of blood. She shouldn't work for a few days and should remain in bed for the rest of the night." The doctor told Toby. Toby nodded and the doctor left.

Toby sat on the bed next to a still Mrs. Lovett. He watched over her. There was a large wrap around the wound, that was stained with blood. The sheets surrounding her were also covered in blood. Toby took her hand into his own.

"It'll be okay, mum. I promise." Toby said and started to cry, releasing all the stress of the day through his tears.

"I love you mum." Toby whispered. He gently kissed her cheek and positioned his head on the pillow near hers.


	6. Chapter 6

Sweeney was upstairs pacing madly. He'd heard Mrs. Lovett scream. He'd known she was in pain and he'd done nothing. What could he have done though. The sun was beginning to show through the window. Sweeney hadn't slept at all. The sound of Mrs. Lovett screaming and the look of terror on her face had haunted him all night. He felt absolutely terrible. He wanted to go down to her, but what would he say. What must she think of him now.

~Downstairs~

Toby had stayed by Mrs. Lovett's side all night. He'd been restless, waking up every so often to check if she was awake. Finally, Mrs. Lovett began to stir. She moaned something and her eyes opened slowly.

"Mum?" Toby whispered to her.

"Toby, dear, wha' time is it?" Mrs. Lovett groaned. She sat up slowly keeping a hand on her stitches.

"It's nearly six, mum, but ya 'ave to stay in bed. The doctor said ya can't work." Toby said quickly.

"Alrigh', I won't open the shop today but I am getting out of bed." Mrs. Lovett said as she slowly pushed herself out of the bed. Toby knew he wouldn't be able to reason with her so he let her go. She walked slowly out into the parlor and sat down in her chair.

"Toby, can ya handle breakfast?" She asked.

"Yes o' course mum." Toby said and went off to the front of the shop.

~Upstairs~

Sweeney could stand it anymore. He had to go downstairs. He had to make sure Mrs. Lovett was okay. He started down the stairs. He reached the door and saw Toby standing in the shop, cooking. He opened the door. Toby turned around.

"What the hell do ya think you doin' down 'ere?" Toby spat.

"Making sure Mrs. Lovett is okay." Sweeney said.

"She doesn't need you ta make sure of anythin so just get out of here. Ya've caused enough trouble." Toby snapped. Sweeney ignored him and began to walk back to the parlor.

"Don't ya dare." Toby yelled and stepped in front of him.

"Get out of my way, boy" Sweeney yelled.

"Toby, wot's goin on out 'ere?" Mrs. Lovett appeared in the doorway. She stopped as soon as she saw Sweeney. Her eyes widened. She backed away.

"W...Wot are y...ya doin down 'ere?" Mrs. Lovett stuttered. She couldn't even make eye contact with him.

"Mrs. Lovett, I didn't mean to..."Sweeney started. "

"Get Out." Mrs. Lovett said blankly and walked back into the parlor. Sweeney stared for a moment, then turned and walked out of the shop.


	7. Chapter 7

Mrs. Lovett sat in her parlor. She was too distracted to even read her romance novel. Her mind was spinning. She kept thinking of how she felt when she saw Sweeney this morning. Her heart had dropped. Her mind immediately went back to how crazy he'd looked when he'd sliced her with his razor.

_He sliced me. He tried to kill me. It could've been my throat instead. He looked so insane. He wanted to kill me. He blames me for all of this. It isn't my fault. Is it?_

All of these thoughts were racing through her mind. She was terrified of Sweeney. She kept thinking he was gonna come down from his shop and really kill her. Mrs. Lovett got up from her chair.

"Toby!" She called. "I'm going to lay down."

"Okay mum." Toby called back. Mrs. Lovett walked into her room and layed on her bed. She began to drift off into sleep.

~Mrs. Lovett's Nightmare~

_It was dark,cold, and raining. Mrs. Lovett was sitting inside her shop at the bench. There was no light except one small candle sitting on the table. She was drinking a glass of gin. The raining was pounding down. Thunder boomed and lightning struck through the sky. Sweeney slammed through the .Lovett screamed and jumped up from the bench. He grabbed a knife from the drawer. An erie smile crept across his face as he came straight at her. She ran for the door but it wouldn't budge. She screamed again._

_"TOBY! HELP ME! PLEASE!" She screamed as loud as she could._

_" Nobody can hear you, Nellie. I'm going to kill you and no one is going to stop me." Sweeney said it with a melancholy voice and a smile. Mrs. Lovett started to cry._

_"Please, please, let me live. It isn't my fault. Please." She sobbed. Sweeney laughed a smug, cool laugh._

_"Poor, pathetic Nellie. You think you deserve to live but you don't. No one does. It is your faul. It's everyone's fault." Sweeney said with a maniacal laugh. He raised the knife. Mrs. Lovett's sobbs got louder._

_" I love you." She sobbed quietly. Sweeney killed her with a smile._

Mrs. Lovett woke up with tears running down her face and sweat on her back. It was dark except for a little sliver of moonlight coming through the curtains. She sat up. She began to scream when a hand covered her mouth.

"Stop screaming. I'm not going to hurt you." Sweeney said sternly.

"W...w...wha' are ya doin' in ere?" Mrs. Lovett stuttered. She was shaking. Sweeney sat down on the bed. Mrs. Lovett moved quickly away from him.

"Mrs. Lovett, I'm honestly not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." Sweeney said.


End file.
